This invention relates generally to decision support system rules and, more particularly, to methods and systems for identifying conflicting and duplicate rules.
Generally, decision support systems are computerized systems used for making decisions. Known decision support systems include a series of rules designed to aid the decision process. Over time, staff responsible for generating, writing and implementing the rules may change. Their replacements may enhance the decision support system by implementing new rules. However, new rules may conflict with or duplicate existing rules.
Consequently, decision support systems may end up with several rules processing the same information and returning conflicting or the same results. For example, in the health care industry context, a physician may generate a first rule recommending one course of treatment while another physician may create a second rule recommending a conflicting course of treatment—for the same ailment. One user of the decision support system may administer care to a patient based on the first rule, while another system user may administer care to the same patient based on the second rule. Thus, conflicting or duplicative rules may result in health care mistakes and related increased liability for health care providers.